Twitter Reacts To Mitchell’s Awkward In-Cage Prayer Session

Bryce Mitchell and Dan Ige squared off in a Featherweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 23, 2023) at UFC Vegas 79 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following a competitive battle, Mitchell earned the decision nod.

Ige opened the fight pumping his lead hand, and he connected early with a heavy left hook. A lead right hand from the Hawaiian scored also, but Mitchell answered with a deep high-crotch takedown attempt. Ige was able to escape, as well as punish the shot with a punch. Mitchell started throwing his hands more, connected on a left, then dived into another double leg.

This time, Mitchell forced his foe to the fence and threw him to the floor with a body lock. In a promising sign, Ige popped back up and escaped to the center. Mitchell’s nose was bleeding three minutes into the round. Undeterred, Mitchell shot again and worked behind Ige in the clinch. Finally, Mitchell really scored a takedown, landing in mount. He briefly threatened the arm triangle, then “Thug Nasty” landed some shots when the bell was set to expire.

Ige scored with a huge shifting combination to start the second round, but Mitchell answered immediately with a double leg. Ige denied him … barely. Back in the center, Mitchell ripped a nice body kick. Ige cracked his foe with a heavy lead hook, and the doctor was brought in to inspect Mitchell’s carved up eye. It was looking AWFUL, but the fight was allowed to continue.

A wild takedown attempt from Mitchell saw him reversed to his back for a moment. Another takedown stuffed. Just as Mitchell was looking desperate, he scored a body lock takedown into mount! “Thug Nasty” moved towards the back and started attacking the neck, which turned into an arm triangle attempt. Ige escaped and survived to the bell after a wildly eventful round!

Mitchell wrestled off the starting horn at round three, taking Ige’s back after a wild scramble. The Arkansas-native locked in a body triangle for some time then moved to mount as Ige worked to scramble. The Hawaiian worked back to his feet with a couple minutes remaining, but he couldn’t escape Mitchell’s grasp entirely. As the two scramble, Ige landed a takedown of his own with just over a minute remaining. He finished the round in mount, but neither man landed any particularly heavy blows in the final frame.

All three rounds were back-and-forth, featuring momentum shifts in both directions. Though Ige did the most damage by a country mile, Mitchell finished the first two rounds strong and scored more overall control time. As it turned out, that’s what the judges deemed most important, unanimously naming him the victor.

However, it only grew odder from there. Following the victory, Mitchell dropped to his knees in prayer. Ige, awkwardly kneeling down beside him, seemed unsure of how to react. Mitchell also promised to donate money from his purse to the recent fires in Maui, a very nice gesture.

Predictably, reactions online were rather mixed. Some supported Mitchell’s genuine display of his beliefs, while others didn’t find it particularly appropriately. Here’s a sample of the reactions:

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